Chapter 37: Actually, I'm Lost
Uchiha Obito's miserable state proved one thing: no matter the era or the world, effective intelligence is crucial and can easily change a person's fate.
If not for a certain black-skinned, black-hearted crow knowing all the intelligence about the Kamui dimension, plus a little insignificant conjecture about space-time ninjutsu, it would have been made into old crow soup.
It's no wonder ninjas of the Five Great Nations would rather die than leak intelligence... Even though Uchiha Itachi hadn't received systematic ninja training, he also realized the importance of intelligence.
So, he also slipped out to gather intelligence...
As for finding where he was, it was still a relatively simple matter. Ever since the Nine-Tails rampage, Kitahara had secretly placed a Flying Thunder God marker on Uchiha Itachi.
Flying Thunder God Technique!
Kitahara instantly tracked Itachi's position using the Flying Thunder God marker left on him... It was just this destination... The crow materialized above Uchiha Itachi's head, silently looking at its own cub.
"...Caw..."
"Kitahara!"
Uchiha Itachi was pleasantly surprised by his companion's sudden appearance. A string of little turnip heads followed behind him... Kitahara was momentarily stunned. Why does this cub... like taking care of children?
Usually, in Konoha, carrying his younger brother was barely tolerable. Did he unleash his true nature after coming out? Directly gathering a large group of children in the middle of the night, was he planning to open an orphanage...
"Caw!"
The crow gave a sidelong glance. An explanation?
They were currently in a dark corridor. The crimson eyes looked a bit scary in the dim candlelight. A few timid children immediately pouted and started crying...
Uchiha Itachi quickly went forward to comfort them, like a little girl coaxing a doll, "...Don't cry, don't cry, he's my friend, he's here to save us..."
Kitahara: "..."
He's quite skilled at coaxing children!
Tonight was purely accidental. Uchiha Itachi had secretly inquired about the small town's news from the innkeeper. Upon learning that someone was privately abducting children, he had been squatting on the inn's rooftop...
According to Itachi's guess, a six-year-old child had arrived in the small town, and the mastermind behind the scenes definitely wouldn't let him go... At this moment, he remembered he was still a child himself!
At night, after Jiraiya left, two sneaky-looking men slipped into the inn and went straight for Itachi's room... Naturally, they found it empty...
Uchiha Itachi quietly trailed behind them and found this gloomy place. It seemed construction here had just begun. The little boy easily slipped in and incidentally rescued a group of turnip heads.
There was no more specific intelligence...
"...Caw?"
The crow glanced at the depths of the corridor. What is this place? Besides those two kidnappers, are there other people? After all, this place doesn't look like something ordinary people could build.
"I've searched everywhere inside. Apart from them, there isn't anyone else..." Uchiha Itachi shook his head and frowned, "And many parts have freshly dug marks..."
"Caw!"
Kitahara wanted to go take a look...
Uchiha Itachi quickly grabbed its wing, "I've already packed everything into a sealing scroll. Apart from some strange things, there's only money inside..."
"...Caw?" The crow fell silent. Did we find treasure? But what could be stranger than you!
The little boy patted his bulging ninja pouch, took out a sealing scroll from inside, and whispered:
"Sealing: Release!"
Clatter! Clang! Clink!
A series of metal tubes and glassware fell out. Judging by their outlines, they looked very much like microscopes, petri dishes, and the like used in modern biology. Clearly, this environment couldn't be a hospital.
It was probably a biological experiment base or something... of...
The crow's usually dull nerves instantly tensed! It remembered what Jiraiya had gone off to do! If that old man wasn't happily playing around in the tavern, then he must have found Orochimaru's tracks!
This was Orochimaru's experimental base!
Kitahara mechanically lowered its head, looking at Uchiha Itachi, "Caw!"
"Mm, this is Orochimaru's experimental base..." The little boy seemed to have known this all along and took something out of his ninja pouch.
It was a photo frame. On it was a group photo of the Konoha Sannin in their youth: a mature-looking young Orochimaru, a confident Tsunade... and Jiraiya, whose neck was tightly clasped by the Third Hokage.
"..."
The entire crow felt unwell. Orochimaru defected from Konoha. He painstakingly kept a photo as a memento, why did you take it?
"There's something else behind the photo frame..." Uchiha Itachi pointed to the seal on the photo frame. Perhaps because its owner often opened it, the brown lacquer on the frame was somewhat chipped.
Click!
Itachi pulled out a thin notebook from the compartment...
"Caw!"
If it's Orochimaru's experimental notes, even if it's just from this period, then this little boy's adventure is truly... a great harvest!
What could it be... Cloning technology? Cell transplantation technology? Edo Tensei research records? Or... genetic modification technology? Anyway, no matter which one, it was useless to Itachi and Kitahara...
Better than nothing... If it was Orochimaru's ninjutsu development records, that would be quite substantial!
Kitahara cawed at Itachi, "Caw!"
Read it out loud!
The little boy nodded and opened the notebook:
"Two companions have been added to my future life. Senju Tsunade, the First Hokage's direct granddaughter, ranked first in taijutsu at the Ninja Academy, exceptionally strong, proficient in medical ninjutsu..."
"Jiraiya, dead last at the Ninja Academy. Perhaps this team composition is for balance. Cannot trust him in the future, need to protect his safety as much as possible..."
"..."
"Jiraiya likes to fool around, easily dies on the battlefield..."
"Lent Tsunade twelve thousand ryo. Women spend money exceptionally fast..."
"Lent Jiraiya five thousand ryo to compensate for losses incurred during missions."
"..."
"According to Jiraiya's hero-saves-beauty plan, he was injured by Tsunade tonight. Medical bandages are useless. Preliminary judgment: three broken bones in his body..."
"..."
Kitahara's spirit wasn't doing well... It was all just a running account. The notebook's owner wrote it cutely, but the crow listening was utterly bewildered.
Uchiha Itachi quickly flipped through it and read the last page: "Death always comes quickly. Any bonds formed with it are incredibly fragile. I cannot accept death. People need to seek eternal life. Only with eternal life does everything that happens in life have meaning."
"Caw?"
That's it? Kitahara felt a bit disappointed... Although it learned many dark (cute) secrets about the Konoha Sannin in their youth, it was completely useless!
However, it did fit the facts... This base was newly built, meaning Orochimaru hadn't started using it yet.
Besides, throughout the ninja world, whether it was uniquely developed ninjutsu or biological science and technology, they were all extremely precious. Orochimaru definitely carried them all with him...
"Caw..."
Kitahara dejectedly landed on Itachi's head, urging him to leave this place first... It seemed that apart from obtaining some travel funds, there were no other gains from this trip...
"Kitahara, actually... I'm lost..."
The little boy blushed and scratched the back of his head, looking particularly embarrassed.
(End of this chapter)